Methods of stitching a seam

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus for stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth. The cloth is first folded-over a plate so that portions of the cloth lie one above the other with the plate between them. The cloth and plate are held in a clamp and the plate is then withdrawn. The clamp with the piece of cloth is moved beneath a sewing needle to stitch the seam.

United States Patent [191 l-lofland 1 1 METHODS OF STITCHING A SEAM [76] Inventor: Petrus Cornelius Gerardus Holland,

Jules Verneweg 22. Tilburg, Netherlands [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 400,209

[52] U.S. Cl. l12/l21.15; 112/147 [51] Int. C1. D053 35/10 [58] Field ofSearch.....112/121.l5,121.29.121.12,

Ill/121.11, 2. DIG. 2, DIG. 3, 147

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.768.592 10/1956 Bihaly it 12/121.15 3.156.204 11/1964 Hamish et a1. l12/D1Gi 3 3.204.591 9/1965 Pickett 112/121. 11

[ 1 June 17, 1975 3.291.480 12/1966 Haddad A. ll2/l2l.l5 3.476.003 11/1969 Adams i 112/016. 2 3,522,783 8/1970 Pollmeier.... ll2/l2l,l5 3.528.378 9/1970 Westhoff..... 112/12115 3.604.701 9/1971 Hawley i. 112/121.29 X 3.763.802 10/1973 Champney et a1 [12/121,112 3.789.781 2/1974 Carson et a1 i. 112112129 Primary Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder [5 7] ABSTRACT A method and an apparatus for stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth. The cloth is first folded over a plate so that portions of the cloth lie one above the other with the plate between them. The cloth and plate are held in a clamp and the plate is then withdrawn. The clamp with the piece of cloth is moved beneath a sewing needle to stitch the seam.

16 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 17 I975 SHEET LBSSBl 3 PATENTEUJUN 1 7 I975 SHEET METHODS OF STITCHING A SEAM The invention relates to a method of stitching a seam in a folded over piece of cloth.

In manufacturing clothing and the like it often occurs that a piece of cloth has to be folded-over a seam and has to be stitched parallel to or at an angle to one of the edges of the piece in order to attach the two portions of the cloth to each other. In the prior art folding into the correct position has been completely carried out by hand and practically without expedients, after which efforts are made to move by hand the piece of cloth beneath the sewing needle of the sewing machine so that the desired seam is made in the correct position. This is a time-consuming operation and requires accurate preliminary measuring and marking of the piece of cloth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention has for its object to provide a method of the kind set forth by which a desired seam can be rapidly and efficiently stitched at the desired place in a folded-over piece of cloth.

According to the invention this can be achieved by folding the piece of cloth around a plate so that the plate is located between the superimposed portions of the folded piece of cloth, after which the plate with the piece of cloth is fixed in a clamp, the plate being substantially withdrawn and the clamp with the plate being moved along beneath the sewing needle. In this case it is only necessary to place a mark on an edge of the piece of cloth where the folding edge has to be made. When folding over it is only necessary to ensure that the parts of the edge lying beneath and above the plate, where the mark is made are located one above the other after folding. The plate can be inserted into the clamping member at any desired angle to the clamping device so that after the withdrawal of the plate the folding edge occupies a given position in the clamping member, after which the clamp is displaced, with respect to the sewing needle, along a guide, for example. Thus, the stitch seam is automatically made in the piece of cloth at the desired angle to or parallel to the folding edge.

A particularly suitable sewing machine for carrying out the method embodying the invention is obtained by providing the sewing machine with a plate connected with the sewing machine and adapted to move along a given track and with a clamping member connected with the sewing machine so as to be movable along a given path. The plate can be constructed and connected with the sewing machine so that by a reciprocating movement of the plate the folded-over piece of cloth is automatically inserted in the desired manner into the clamping member, while by displacing the clamping member during sewing the seam is automatically stitched in the desired manner in the piece of cloth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described more fully with reference to an embodiment shown schematically in the accompanying Figures for a sewing machine in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a sewing machine in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. 1, the plate pivoted to the sewing machine frame being omitted.

FIG. 3 is the enlarged view of the plate with its support.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the plate of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The sewing machine shown schematically in the Figures comprises a conventional housing 1 accommodating the driving mechanism for a needle rod 2 adapted to move up and down and having a sewing needle 3 secured to its end. At the end of the housing 1 remote from the needle rod, a handwheel 4 is provided for manual adjustment of the position of the sewing needle, if necessary. The handwheel 4 has furthermore a mark for indicating the topmost position of the sewing needle. The sewing machine comprises furthermore a table top 5 for receiving the piece of cloth.

To the frame of the sewing machine is secured a sleeve 6 receiving the lower end of a vertical shaft 7. With the aid of a set screw 8 the shaft 7 can be fixed in any desired position in the sleeve 6.

About the top end of the shaft 7, a sleeve is adapted to rotate a vertical plate 10 is secured to sleeve 9, and has a horizontally bent-over rim II. The rim 11 holds one end of an arm 12, which can be clamped tight to the rim II with the aid of two set screws 13. The set screws 13 are passed through elongated holes 14 in the arm 12 so that the arm 12 is longitudinally displacable telescopically and can be clamped tight to the rim 1] of the plate 10 in a great number of different positions.

A more or less, tapering rectangular plate 16 is pivotally coupled, by means of a vertical stub shaft 15, to the end of the arm 12 remote from shaft 7. The plate 16 extends from the pivotal point 15 at least substantially in the direction of the shaft 7. The plate 16 has an elongated hole 17 concentrical to the shaft 15, through which a set screw 18 is passed for clamping the plate 16 in any desired position against rotation about the shaft 15 to the arm 12. A first position of the plate 16 is indicated in FIG. 4 by solid lines and a second position is indicated by broken lines. The plate 16 has furthermore an elongated hole 19 substantially at right angles to the elongated hole 17.

The sewing machine comprises furthermore a clamping member having a lower rule 20, adapted in this embodiment to slide along a straight path in the table top 5 and an upper rule 21 coupled at one end with the lower rule and having resilient pins 21A. With the aid of a downwardly extending rod 22 the two rules are coupled with a connecting block 23, located beneath the table and adapted to reciprocate with the aid of a preferably pneumatic setting cylinder 24, secured to the bottom side of the table. To the connecting block is secured a ball bearing 25, adapted to rotate about a horizontal shaft and located in an elongated hole 26 in the top end of a lever 28, adapted to pivot about a fixed, horizontal shaft 27. At a given distance from the shaft 27 the lever 28 has pivotally coupled with it the end of a piston rod 29, which forms part of a hydraulic braking cylinder 30, whose end remote from the lever 28 is hinged to a fixed point 31.

It is furthermore apparent from FIG. 2 that directly at the side of the sleeve 6 the end of a horizontal piston rod 32 is located, which forms part of a setting cylinder (not shown). Directly at the side of the needle rod is a feeler switch comprising a vertical air supply tube 33 arranged above the table top. the end of said tube being located opposite a tube 34 in line with the tube 33 beneath the table top. A blow duct 35 (FIG. 1) is provided, which is preferably formed by a flexible metal hose or the like, which can be bent into any desired position. in which it is maintained.

The use and the operation of the machine depicted above are as follows.

A piece of cloth which has to be folded over and provided with a stitched seam. is provided with a mark at the beginning of the stitched seam. The piece of cloth 36, as is shown schematically in FIG. 1, is put down on the plate 16 so that the mark is located on the edge 37 of the plate 19 facing the table 5. Then the piece of cloth can be folded around the edge of the plate 37 so that one portion of the piece of cloth is located on the plate and a further portion is located beneath the plate. Through the elongated hole 19 it can be seen whether the edges of the two portions of the piece of cloth are located perpendicularly one over the other. It appears from FIG. 1 that the plate 16 is provided on its top face with marking lines 38, which may be formed by differently coloured tapes stuck to the plate or the like andlor with a simple. adjustable top 38A. shown schematically in FIG. 4 and adapted to be fixed in position by the set screw 18. In accordance with the seam to be stitched it has to be ensured that the edge of the piece of cloth extending transversely of the edge 37 of the plate 16 coincides with one of these marking lines and- /or with the stop 38a. It will be obvious that when the operator has acquired some skill in this respect, folding of a piece of cloth in the correct position around the plate 16 can be carried out very rapidly. When the piece of cloth is in the desired position around the plate 16, the arm 12 is turned about the shaft 7 inwardly so that the plate 10 will come into contact with the end of the piston rod 32 at a given instant. With this end of the arm 12 is connected a switch which actuates the sewing machine. At this start first the clamping rule 21 is turned downwards. for example, by means of a rod 39 adapted to be moved vertically up and down by a setting cylinder, with which rod a ball bearing 40 is cou pled, which bears on the top side of the rule 21. When the rule 21 is turned downwards. the folded-over piece of cloth with the plate 16 is clamped in between the two rules. which is indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1. The resilient pins 21A grip the cloth; this is a firm grip both on thick and very thin cloth and on rough and very smooth material. In this embodiment the edge 37 is at an angle to the direction of length of the two rules. When the rule 21 has reached its lowermost position, the setting cylinder with the piston rod 32 is automati cally actuated, so that the piston rod 32 is pushed out wards and the plate 16 is turned in anti-ciockwise direction about the shaft 7 so that the plate 16 is slipped out from between the two superimposed portions of the piece ofcloth. which is held in the adjusted position be tween the rules 21 and 20. After the plate 16 is turned back. the setting cylinder 24 is actuated so that the two rules and 21 are moved to the left, viewed in FIG. 2. At the same time air is blown out of the tube 3?. t the instant when the piece of cloth is shifted to the left beyond the end of the tube 33 the air retained up it) that instant by the piece of cloth will flow into the duct 34 so that a switch is operated which reverses the movement of the setting cylinder 24. These operations are, of course. timed so that the edge of the piece of cloth is then located just to the left of the needle 3, viewed in FIG. 2. As soon as the piece of cloth clamped between the rules 20 and 21 is moved to the right with the rules, viewed in FIG. 2, the needle rod is actuated so that a seam is stitched in the piece of cloth parallel to the direction of displacement of the clamping member 20, 21. The braking cylinder 30 ensures that the clamping member is displaced at a regular speed. When the clamping member has reached its extreme righthand position, which position may be adjustable in order to ensure that with different seams stitching is performed exactly over the whole length and that the clamping member is not displaced over an unduly large distance, the sewing machine is stopped so that the upper and lower threads are automatically cut off, after which the needle 3 is in its topmost position. Then the clamping rule 21 is turned upwards and air is supplied through the suitably curved hose 35 in order to blow the stitched piece of cloth from the plate 16. In the meantime the operator has folded a further piece of cloth around the plate 16 so that the above-mentioned cycle can be repeated.

It will be obvious that since the arm 12 is displaceable in its direction oflength and fixable in a plurality of positions and since the plate 16 is adapted to turn about the stub shaft 15 and to be adjusted to a plurality of positions, a seam can be stitched in a piece of cloth in many different ways. This is illustrated in FIG. 4, which shows the plate 16 in a first position indicated by solid lines and in a second position indicated by broken lines; the imaginary path 41 covered by the needle is indicated in this Figure by a dot-and-dash line.

Usually a great number of pieces are worked in the same manner so that, when the machine has once been adjusted to such a piece, stitching of the seams can be performed very rapidly. The pieces are usually cut si multaneously from a stack of larger pieces. According to a further aspect of the invention a highly efficient operation can be performed by clamping together the edges of such a stack of cut pieces with the aid of a clamp. Such a clamped stack can be transferred to the machine. where the individual pieces can be turned over like the pages of a book for stitching the seams.

Although in the embodiment described above the seam is at an angle to the folding edge of the piece of cloth. which coincides with the edge 37 of the plate 16, the plate 16 may, obviously, be designed and disposed so that the seam extends parallel to the folding edge. It is furthermore possible to displace the clamping member along a curved or kinked line instead of moving it along a straight line.

I claim:

I. A method of stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth comprising:

folding said piece of cloth about a folding edge of a plate so that said plate is located between the portions of said piece of cloth lying one above the other;

swinging said plate with said piece of cloth folded thereon to a position between the jaws of a clamping means adjacent a sewing machine, said swinging being about an axis transverse to the plane of said plate and with said folding edge being the leading edge;

closing said jaws to hold said plate with said piece of cloth thereon;

swinging said plate away from the folded edge of the piece of cloth to withdraw said plate from between said portions of cloth;

actuating a sewing needle of said sewing machine;

moving said clamp with said piece of cloth beneath said sewing needle;

opening said jaws; and

removing said piece of cloth from said clamp.

2. An apparatus for use with a sewing machine for stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth comprising:

an arm,

means pivotally coupling one end of said arm to the sewing machine;

having a folding edge a plate for folding a piece of cloth;

means adjustably fastening said plate to the other end of said arm with said folding edge facing the sewing machine whereby said plate is pivotally coupled to the sewing machine for swinging toward or away from the sewing machine;

holding means engageable with said plate for holding the piece of cloth folded over said plate means;

means movably coupling said holding means to the sewing machine, whereby said holding means is movable along a predetermined path on a table top of the sewing machine;

means for withdrawing said plate by swinging said plate away from the sewing machine from the piece of cloth; and

means for moving said holding means beneath a sewing needle of the sewing machine.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including means for adjusting said plate along the length of said arm and for fixing said plate in a plurality of positions along said arm.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said adjustable means comprises:

a pivotal shaft adjacent said other end of said arm,

and means for fixing said plate in a plurality of pivotal positions.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plate has an elongated hole oriented substantially in the same direction as said folding edge.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plate includes means for locating said piece of cloth on said plate.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said means for locating comprises marks on said plate.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said means for locating comprises an adjustable stop on said plate.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a switch positioned in the route of said plate and automatically operable when said plate moves along said route to actuate said sewing machine.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said holding means comprises:

a lower rule;

means to move said lower rule along said predetermined path; an upper rule;

means to pivotally attach said upper rule to said lower rule adjacent one end; and

a setting rod attached to said upper rule for pivoting said upper rule with respect to said lower rule.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, including a setting cylinder for moving said setting rod.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein one of said rules is provided with resilient pins.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 including a braking rod and cylinder coupled to said holding means.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a feeler switch for actuating the drive of a sewing needle of the sewing machine when said piece of cloth is delivered by said holding means to the desired position with respect to said sewing needle.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said feeler comprises an airduct located near said sewing needle on one side of a table top of the sewing machine across which said piece of cloth moves, and a re ceiving duct located on the other side of said table top.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 including a blowing duct adjacent said sewing needle for blowing said piece of cloth from said table top after stitching. a: 

1. A method of stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth comprising: folding said piece of cloth about a folding edge of a plate so that said plate is located between the portions of said piece of cloth lying one above the other; swinging said plate with said piece of cloth folded thereon to a position between the jaws of a clamping means adjacent a sewing machine, said swinging being about an axis transverse to the plane of said plate and with said folding edge being the leading edge; closing said jaws to hold said plate with said piece of cloth thereon; swinging said plate away from the folded edge of the piece of cloth to withdraw said plate from between said portions of cloth; actuating a sewing needle of said sewing machine; moving said clamp with said piece of cloth beneath said sewing needle; opening said jaws; and removing said piece of cloth from said clamp.
 2. An apparatus for use with a sewing machine for stitching a seam in a folded-over piece of cloth comprising: an arm, means pivotally coupling one end of said arm to the sewing machine; having a folding edge a plate for folding a piece of cloth; means adjustably fastening said plate to the other end of said arm with said folding edge facing the sewing machine whereby said plate is pivotally coupled to the sewing machine for swinging toward or away from the sewing machine; holding means engageable with said plate for holding the piece of cloth folded over said plate means; means movably coupling said holding means to the sewing machine, whereby said holding means is movable along a predetermined path on a table top of the sewing machine; means for withdrawing said plate by swinging said plate away from the sewing machine from the piece of cloth; and means for moving said holding means beneath a sewing needle of the sewing machine.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, includiNg means for adjusting said plate along the length of said arm and for fixing said plate in a plurality of positions along said arm.
 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said adjustable means comprises: a pivotal shaft adjacent said other end of said arm, and means for fixing said plate in a plurality of pivotal positions.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plate has an elongated hole oriented substantially in the same direction as said folding edge.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plate includes means for locating said piece of cloth on said plate.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said means for locating comprises marks on said plate.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said means for locating comprises an adjustable stop on said plate.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a switch positioned in the route of said plate and automatically operable when said plate moves along said route to actuate said sewing machine.
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said holding means comprises: a lower rule; means to move said lower rule along said predetermined path; an upper rule; means to pivotally attach said upper rule to said lower rule adjacent one end; and a setting rod attached to said upper rule for pivoting said upper rule with respect to said lower rule.
 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, including a setting cylinder for moving said setting rod.
 12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein one of said rules is provided with resilient pins.
 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 including a braking rod and cylinder coupled to said holding means.
 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, including a feeler switch for actuating the drive of a sewing needle of the sewing machine when said piece of cloth is delivered by said holding means to the desired position with respect to said sewing needle.
 15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said feeler comprises an airduct located near said sewing needle on one side of a table top of the sewing machine across which said piece of cloth moves, and a receiving duct located on the other side of said table top.
 16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 including a blowing duct adjacent said sewing needle for blowing said piece of cloth from said table top after stitching. 